I Was Shocked By What I Found At The Everest Base Camp, Says Nishchal Dua

Dreaming about your next holiday while sitting at your workstation is quite the cliche. Nishchal Dua, founder of The Remote Life, has found a practical solution to this situation. He has been helping people around the world find jobs that require them to travel! Sounds like an angel, doesn’t he? And he is. A responsible traveller himself, Dua propogates the need of ethics while on the move from his travel experiences around the world.

“I was at the Everest Base Camp a few months ago and I was shocked by what I found there,” he shares. “I had been preparing for Base Camp for almost three years by doing nine really tough treks in India. I had no idea of what I was going to find up there. When I got to the Everest Base Camp, I found people partying at that altitude. Just for a few extra dollars, you could cigarettes and beer at the Base Camp. I was shocked!”

“People heading up to that height do not understand the value of getting that singe packet of extra cigarettes or a crate of beer there. Sadly, there are no steps in place to discourage this behaviour.”

Image courtesy: Part Of Your World

Not one to mince words, Dua says, “I think the people of our country have an inherent sense of the world beyond being far better than what it is here in India. Everything within India is taken for granted. I had hundreds of enquiries about how to get to Everest Base Camp, after I returned. I kept telling people that it is important to prepare on some of the most challenging treks that India has to offer before attempting Base Camp.”

“Travel is an important tool in bridging the gap between what we think of the world and is really out there. I feel responsible travel is crucial to us because spending two-three weeks at a location as a holiday does not really count as travel. If you are not immersing yourself in the culture and the cuisine of the place, it doesn’t count.”

“The internet is a massive tool that is being used to propagate ideas about ‘what is out there’. Most of these are lies. The only way to know what is really out there is to go there instead of relying on what some people chose to write about it.”

Picture courtesy: Arawi Peru

“I think it is very important for people to pause and think about what is really happening around us instead of relying on what social media keeps telling us to think.”

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16 Replies to “I Was Shocked By What I Found At The Everest Base Camp, Says Nishchal Dua”

It is horrible what the vacationers do to travelers. For a couple of instagram pictures people end up ruining really beautiful creations and to all these people i humbly ask to please travel only if travel can be done without impact to those around and not just for the heck of it. everest is on my bucket list and this just makes me sad. thank you for writing.

Hi Scott, thank you for appreciating the story and sharing your experience. The objective of Alpaviram is to create a conversation around responsible among current and potential travellers. Let us know if you have responsible travel stories to share, and we would be happy to publish. Look forward..

It’s truly horrendous how we don’t appreciate nature! The founder of The Remote Life, Nischal Dua is a responsible traveller, ensuring that even those who travel for his company do the same. All their needs, from accomodation to safety are fulfilled by the company. The founder also makes sure that no harm is done to the natural surroundings of the place, thus making a place worthwhile to everyone who comes there.

Yes, we need more travel entrepreneurs to think on the lines of sustainable development instead of mindlessly minting money at the cost of nature. We, at Alpaviram, are delighted to make his acquaintance.

It’s really sad to know that people don’t value the serene beauty of nature and could even exploit it, for the sake of thrill and fun of few hours.
It’s a worthy idea to promote travel ethics, for people to learn just not to see the nature, but to experience it, with love and care. And it’s good to see that “the remote life”, being a traveling start up has taken responsibility for this.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts Shruti. Initiatives like Alpaviram are important precisely for this purpose – initiate discussions on how our travel practices contribute to the problems of nature, and how we can incorporate responsible tourism practices to minimize the damage. We value your support in this endeavour!

The man who spits on the road in India, definitely does not dare do the same abroad. If this does not point towards the sorry state of the mentality of people in India, then what will. It’s high time one understands that staying in luxury hotels and travelling business class does not amount to travelling in the real sense. It is living in that place and breathing the culture which gets one closer to the heart of the destination. It is a massive initiative taken by The Remote Life to practice and propagate ‘Responsible Travel’, to bring about a change in the mindset of individuals.

I quite like the idea behind Nischal’s company. It is always a struggle when one is looking to maintain a healthy balance between their personal and professional life. The Remote life provides an apt escape from this predicament by helping people achieve their travel and professional goals simultaneously while on the move. That being established, it is imperative for any traveler while going to a new place, to maintain a certain decorum and decency. It is understandable that people like to make memories and have fun but that shouldn’t come at the cost of leaving a bad taste for fellow travelers who are there to explore the culture and soak in the beauty. Especially an awe-inspiring place like Mount Everest that is a part of a multitude of peoples bucket list around the world. This is one topic that needs to be discussed with fervor and spread around to sensitize people about the ethics of traveling!

It is time for us to explore the real world in true sense, not through the screens of the phones that our eyes are glued to.

This revelation by Nishchal dua is horrible and truly made. When we are travelling, we look at the places through our screens as we are indulged in clicking selfies. These photos when put on social media only fetch you a ton likes. But what you miss out is the real beauty and real sense of . For me, travelling is only real when you have no thoughts about your phone or photos. You have to get lost in beauty of the nature and feel the wonder.

So forget about social media and phones, just get out there once, track and explore yourself.

It is an established fact that for today’s zealous youth, their holidays are more than Facebook check-ins and Instagram posts! They wish to get inspired and leave a mark, and take away several stories to share with people back home! But it is astonishing to read how people are exploiting nature to ‘leave a mark’ and enjoy for short time periods.
On the bright side, kudos to The Remote Life for initiating such a unique concept and combining travel and work opportunities! Moreover, it was great to hear Nishchal Dua’s experience, highlighting the importance of being a responsible traveler. It is great to share such ideas and promote good travel ethics, as well as make people conscious about the adversities they are causing due to their short lived pleasures.
Look forward to reading more such articles!

” If you are not immersing yourself in the culture and the cuisine of the place, it doesn’t count.”
I ,completely,agree with this.
Nischal,has brought front the actuality of the mindset of the mass majority.
Indians do take for granted the exquisite places that the nature has endowed to us. Travelling,simply doesn’t mean extracting the maximum fun out of a place. It involves indulging yourself in it , knowing the place, and making your own efforts to preserve the ambience.
It’s about exploring yourself while you explore the nature.